tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post3245366015716978251..comments2015-03-31T11:59:44.656-04:00Comments on We Love Soaps: DANCING WITH THE STARS: ALL-STARS Celebrity & Professional Pairings Announced: Kelly Monaco With Valentin ChmerkovskiyKevin Mulcahy Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13659344675956886092noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-68413107346163133762012-08-13T15:40:59.982-04:002012-08-13T15:40:59.982-04:00There is so much wrong with these pairings, but I ...There is so much wrong with these pairings, but I refuse to get worked up over a reality competition. I&#39;m not quite sure why some previous winners are paired up with multi-time past winners, while others get newcomers (including Kelly, the only past winner who is being paired with a relative newcomer). How does the pairing of a past winner (like Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson or racer Helio Castronieves) with a multi-time winner not immediately make them more advanced teams from the start? <br /><br />And it seems you should be either able to have your previous partner back or not, but not some/but not others. Those, like Bristol Palin, who are re-teaming with their previous partner, already start with a professional who knows their strengths and weaknesses, their best moves, their learning style, and exactly how to choreograph for them, whereas those getting new partners have to go through the signature &quot;DTWS&quot; rite of passage (which is sometimes more interesting than the show) where they have to get to know each other and learn to work together and trust each other (Mel B and Maksim being the best example of that) in order to get ahead. Bristol Palin is getting the same partner she had just a couple years ago, so they immediately start from a different place than couples who have to build their chemistry and design their choreography from scratch. They have shared memories, ideas, experience, etc. While I know that these pairings are probably harder to make up than they appear, I&#39;m really surprised there appears to be no attempt even going in at a level playing field. Someone who hasn&#39;t been on the show for years and years gets a relative newcomer they&#39;ve never worked with before, whereas someone who is relatively fresh off the show (within the last 1-2 years) gets to pick up exactly where they left off with the same partner. <br /><br />And it seems to me that on a show with a combination of past winners and past runners-up, a fair way to even it up is to pair the winners with the relative newcomers and the runners up with the multi-time winning professional dancers.<br />user25http://user25.myopenid.com/noreply@blogger.com